Category Archives: Anthology

My collected writings and those of family members.

I Want to Be a Man Who Disdains Platitudes…

Posted on September 26, 2024 by JMN

a man who… … tells it like it is.… heard it from the horse’s mouth.… saw it coming. … sees the forest for the trees.— measures twice, cuts once.… wasn’t born yesterday. … trusts his gut.… takes the bull by … Continue reading →

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Morning Fruit

Posted on September 23, 2024 by JMN

When I write, I say words in my mind. I’m pretty sure I can type words as fast as I can think them. Sometimes it seems I’ve typed them even faster than that! I wash and slice an organic Ambrosia … Continue reading →

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I Made This Object. Call It a Sign.

Posted on September 20, 2024 by JMN

I made this object as a courtesy to visitors looking for my door.  Direct your steps this-a-way in order to accomplish your purpose, it implies.  All it actually says is “Entrance” — I didn’t have room for much more, but … Continue reading →

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The Ballad of Forty-Six

Posted on September 13, 2024 by JMN

DJ, my lord! The grail from which you suprunneth over, sir, with fulsomeness.By your leave I’ll tell it like it is:JD, as well, sips from a frothy cup. DJ, JD, a mirror’s dream times two,chosen well you have, each one … Continue reading →

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THAT God: The Argument With Him (or Them)

Posted on September 11, 2024 by JMN

Christian J. Collier publishes three poems in Poetry, September 2024: “God,” “Case Study” and “The Compline.” Spoken cleanly, rhythmically, hotly, they orbit around experience gleaned from the crucible of propagating life. Formal religion can be heavy on bone and light … Continue reading →

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‘I Handed This…Singular Life Over’: Kate Asche’s ‘[Untitled]’

Posted on August 30, 2024 by JMN

The words of Kate Asche’s poem “[Untitled]” (Poetry, May 2024) enact a sac-like image on the page. Leapfrog the spaces between them and they (the words) hang together as if magnetized, flowing into shattering assertions. A life is lost in … Continue reading →

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Calling All Cat Ladies

Posted on August 18, 2024 by JMN

What My Cat Teaches Me Crouch.ThenPounce. InThatOrder. (c) 2024 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved

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‘I Said Hello. Then You Said You Said Hello’

Posted on August 13, 2024 by JMN

I’m guessing you think there’s a typo in my heading. I know! The use of repetition in “The Renaissance,” a poem by Trey Moody (Poetry, May 2024), was a hook for me. The thirteen-line poem starts here: I said hello. … Continue reading →

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Survival of the Fiercest

Posted on August 4, 2024 by JMN

Various scriptural matter I read has the theme of the “test” through adversity. Failing the test consigns a person to The Fire — agony until the end of time. Flood, drought, pestilence, persecution, war, Vance, all manner of affliction are … Continue reading →

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The Few, the LOUD

Posted on August 1, 2024 by JMN

The elbow room in ivied halls of bard raptureHas the vastness of atomic space.Let ring lute! — Recorder, mandolin and dulcimer.Let move your lips with mine while reading silently.Let BE our noise! Be louder than it sounds! A sub-segment of … Continue reading →

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